Tamper-indicating plastic closures have found widespread acceptance in the marketplace for use on containers for beverages and food products, as well as for non-food items. One particularly commercially successful construction is disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,828, to Wilde et. The closure of this patent can be efficiently formed in accordance with the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,765, to Wilde et al., with a modified form of this tamper-indicating closure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,112, to McBride.
Notably, another particularly effective tamper-indicating plastic closure is disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,938,370, to McBride, and No. 4,978,017, to McBride.
A tamper-indicating plastic closure embodying the teachings of the above patents includes an upper closure cap, and an annular pilfer band depending from the skirt portion of the closure cap. The pilfer band is either partially or completely detachably connected to the skirt portion by a series of circumferentially spaced frangible bridges. For those applications where it is desired that the pilfer band be completely detached from the closure cap during closure removal, the closure typically functions such as that the annular band portion remains on the neck of the container. In contrast, for some applications (particularly in the case of returnable and reusable containers), it is desirable that the pilfer band only be partially detached from the closure cap attendant to closure removal, with the pilfer band remaining joined to the skirt portion of the cap. Use in this manner desirably avoids the need to remove the annular band from the container for its reuse.
When it is desired that the pilfer band remain connected to the closure cap after closure removal, closures of the type disclosed in the above-referenced patents include two particular features. First, the closure is provided with a connector portion which joins the pilfer band to the closure cap after the frangible bridges fracture during closure removal so that the pilfer band is otherwise detached from the closure cap. Additionally, such closures include a fracturable region in the annular pilfer band itself. By this construction, closure removal not only results in the desired, readily visually discernable, partial separation of the pilfer band from the closure cap, but further results in splitting or fracture of the band itself.
Commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,666,053, to Corcoran et al., and No. 4,720,018, to Schetzsle et al., both hereby incorporated by reference, illustrate arrangements for providing a fracturable region in the pilfer band of a plastic tamper-indicating closure.
The present invention contemplates an arrangement for providing at least one fracturable region in the pilfer band of a plastic closure of the above-discussed type, with the present invention facilitating high-speed manufacture and reliable tamper-indication, while avoiding unintended premature fracture during manufacture, shipment, storage, or high-speed application to containers.